THANKSGIVING
by SANDEFUR
Summary: Luke and Grace celebrate their first holiday as a family.


THANKSGIVING

by

SANDEFUR

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction just for fun. I have no claims.

11-22-07/Thursday.

"Early, Daddy." Annie Girardi complains, followed by a huge yawn.

Luke looks down at his curly-haired blonde daughter and smiles. Her walking, like her vocabulary, is getting better each day, but her toddler steps are helped by holding onto his hand.

"Sorry Sweetiepie, but we have to get you your breakfast and then get out of the kitchen. Your mom is going to be busy all morning cooking."

"Why?"

"This is a special day called Thanksgiving."

Annie considers this new word. "Give thanks?"

Luke smiles again at this further proof of Annie's eventual genius status. She grasps the meanings of words very quickly. They enter the apartment's small kitchen...

"That's right. It's a day set aside for people to be thankful for all of the good things in their lives, like your mom and me having you."

"And me you!"

"Yes, we're very blessed to have each other. Be careful of the oven, the turkey is already baking."

Annie, who had a brief encounter with a hot oven back when they lived in her grandparent's house, gives this oven a wide berth. She has never heard the expression: 'Once burned twice shy', but she understands the concept.

"Turkey?" Annie asks.

Luke nods. "A big part of the day's celebration is a feast…uh, that's a large meal with lots of special foods."

Annie watches as her Daddy gets her sippy cup from the cabinet and opens the refrigerator to get her juice. Annie spots something new…

"What that?"

Distracted, Luke replies, "It's a pie."

Annie rolls her eyes the way she has seen her Mama do so many times. She knows what a pie looks like. Annie tries again…

"What pie?"

"Oh, sorry. That's right, you've never seen this kind before. That's a pumpkin pie."

"Pump-kin." Annie carefully repeats.

"Uh-huh. After you went to bed last night your mom spent hours making that pie from scratch."

"From…scratch?"

"That means it's homemade."

"Ohhh…"

As Luke pours the juice, Annie stands on her tiptoes and reaches the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Being very careful, Annie lifts the pie, which seems enormous and very heavy to her. With great difficulty, Annie carries the heavy pie toward the trash can. Her walking is wobbly at best, but by concentrating very hard on her task, Annie successfully reaches the trash can without dropping the pie. Luke notices his daughter's motion out of the corner of his eye. He turns…

"Annie, no!"

Too late. The pie plops into the trash can and Annie turns with the empty pie pan in her hands. She smiles, expecting to be praised for being such a good girl.

"Annie…why?"

Annie looks up at her Daddy and is confused by the question. Isn't it obvious she is helping? Grace enters…

"What's all the racket about?"

"Grace, stay calm."

Grace sighs. "What did she do this time?"

Luke points at the empty pie pan and Grace gulps hard.

"Annie! Shame on you. Why would you do such a mean thing?" (Grace looks into the trash can.) "My first pie! I spent hours making it. Even the crust was homemade."

Annie's lip begins to tremble as she realizes how upset her Mama is, and realizes something has gone horribly wrong. Luke sees the situation is about to go from bad to worse.

"Okay little lady, you have a time out coming."

Luke picks up Annie, her juice and a banana and then heads for the bedroom. The young Girardi's Boston apartment consists of a large living room/dining room combo, a kitchen, a bathroom and a tiny bedroom. Luke and Grace decided to use a sofa bed for themselves and make the bedroom Annie's room. Luke gently deposits Annie onto her bed.

"Here's your juice and a banana for breakfast. Don't make a mess because your mom is already upset by what you did. You have a 20 minute time-out."

Annie tries not to cry. "Daddy…Annie bad?"

Luke looks at his nearly 15 month old daughter's sad little face and his heart melts. He gives Annie a big hug…

"No Annie, you're not bad, but you did do something wrong. Your mom wants to make our first Thanksgiving together as a family a very special, perfect day. Throwing away our dessert was a mistake that she will get over, but you still have to be punished. I'll see you in 20 minutes, okay?"

Luke kisses Annie on the top of her head and exits. Annie looks at the closed door and sighs. Her room is nice, but she hates being closed off from her parents. She isn't yet big enough to open the door and she has no idea how long 'twenty minutes' is, but it seems a long, long time to her. Annie sighs again and decides the world is a confusing place. Dutifully, she eats the peeled banana and drinks her juice while wondering why she is being punished for doing what her parents have taught her to do.

When did it start…Scary Night? No, earlier than that. It started with Yah-Yah. Shortly after Aunt Joan convinced her it was time to start talking, Annie began telling everyone about her friend, Yah-Yah. To Annie's amazement, her parents said Yah-Yah wasn't real. That Annie was playing make-believe. The more Annie insisted 'Yes', the more her parents, especially Mama, insisted 'No'. That led to the lessons on what is and isn't real.

Daddy, wanting to keep things calm in their home, tried to teach Annie about things that seemed real but weren't. First were the cartoons Annie loved but which she had already figured out were not real. Annie pointed out that not even Daddy's cartoons were real…

"Well, video game graphics…"

"Luke." Grace cautioned.

Luke sighed. "Right, Daddy's…'cartoons' are not real."

So far, so good. Picture books were full of fun stories, but they were not real. Annie's beloved stuffed bun-nee was not real. Annie understood that as she had petted real bunnies at the petting zoo. Bun-nee was not alive like them. But then came the purple thing on TV that sang songs—surely he was real?

Mama explained, "No, real dinosaurs are not purple, and they don't sing. What you are seeing is a person in a costume, and that means he is not real."

Annie wasn't sure what a 'dino-saur' might be, but the purple thing seemed to be real. Still, she trusted her Mama and absorbed the information that wearing a costume made you not real. Then came Scary Night. It has another name, but Annie did not remember the long word. The night began well with a promise of a trip around the neighborhood where everyone would be giving Annie free candy, but then came the dreaded thing…a costume! Annie backed away and tried to resist, but her parents insisted she must wear a costume. Otherwise, no candy.

Candy seemed unimportant as Annie cried out, "No, no…Annie real. Annie real!"

But the costume when on and sure enough, Annie stopped being real. In her place was this new thing called, 'Princess'. Annie could not understand why her parents were doing this to her. Didn't they like Annie anymore? Out they went going from house to house, collecting candy in a little orange bucket. Everywhere they stopped people would call Annie, 'Princess'. Annie tried several times to correct the people and tell them she was Annie, but they would laugh and call her Princess all the more.

Annie had to accept that she was no longer real, and that made her so sad. No more Annie. But she liked being Annie! She began to cry, something she rarely did, but could not stop. There were so many strange and scary things out and about that night, and now she wasn't even real…

Luke and Grace became alarmed by their normally serene daughter's distress and cut short trick-or-treating in order to get Annie home right away. Back in the apartment Grace helped Annie out of the costume and used a tissue to dry her daughter's eyes and blow her nose.

"Feeling better, Annie?"

Annie pointed to herself, "Annie…?"

"Of course you're Annie. Who else would you be?"

"Not…Princess?"

"Is that why you were so upset? You didn't like your costume?"

"Princess bad!"

"You're right." Grace chuckled as she took the costume and ripped it in half. Annie giggled with relief as Grace added to Luke, "I told you that princess costume was a mistake."

"I thought all little girls wanted to be a princess."

"Well, not my daughter. There's too much of me in her to ever be a 'princess'!"

Then, because she had such a rough night, Annie was allowed to pick any five of the sweets they had collected. Annie's night immediately improved. Even when she was sad and crying, Annie had noticed some very interesting items going into the orange plastic bucket. Quickly, she picked out the five most tantalizing looking sweets…

Grace shook her head. "A popcorn ball, fudge, divinity, a caramel apple and a fresh, homemade doughnut? Sorry Annie, but you can't have any of these things."

"But…but…"

"I know I promised, but these items are all homemade."

Luke said, "Grace, we only went to the houses of people we know in the neighborhood. Even if they are homemade…"

"No! I won't take the risk, no matter how small. You can't trust people. Like, what sort of oddball gives out homemade doughnuts for Halloween?"

"We got that at our last stop from that nice Mrs. Sandefur just across the street."

Annie, who loved doughnuts, wanted this one more than all of the other items combined. It was still warm and the sugar was melting…

"Doughnut! Mama, please…?"

"No. All homemade sweets are going in the trash."

"Grace, maybe since Annie can't have it, I could…"

"I'm not risking you either, Geek."

Grace threw out all of the homemade goodies and Annie had to pick from the store bought candy, which she enjoyed. She also absorbed that night's lesson. Homemade sweets are bad and have to go in the trash…

Annie continues to stare at the door, still confused about how she got things so wrong. The door opens and she rushes forward as best she can in her wobbly, toddler way. Daddy takes her in his arms and they exchange kisses on the cheek.

"Time out is over. Want to watch the parade with me?"

"Parade…?"

"Another first for you."

Luke carries Annie into the living room, and as they pass the kitchen's pass-through counter, Luke pauses…

"Grace, are you sure I can't help? I feel guilty doing nothing while you work so hard."

"Good, you should feel guilty." Grace replies with a grin.

"Can't I help even a little?"

"Nah, I want to do this the old-fashioned way with me slaving away in a hot kitchen while you sit on your lazy butt watching football."

"But I don't like football."

"Fake it. This year we are doing all of the traditional stereotypes and will then gorge on what I hope will be a delicious holiday meal – minus the pumpkin pie. Next year, who knows? Maybe I'll have you do all of the cooking."

"I wouldn't mind alternating holiday cooking chores. We could make it our own family tradition."

"Deal."

They briefly kiss and Grace rubs Annie's head.

"And you young lady, stop throwing away my pies."

Annie nods and crosses her heart, even though she still isn't sure what she did wrong. Luke and Annie settle on the living room sofa and he switches on the TV. Annie watches, fascinated by this thing called a parade. Soon, Annie is calling out what is and isn't real...

The giant balloon animals. "Not real!"

"Yes Annie."

A marching band. "Real."

"Right again."

The band stops to play a song while the pretty majorettes in their sparkly costumes do a routine with batons. They toss their batons high in the air, and the camera gives a close up of one of the pretty young co-eds waiting for her baton. By the merest 'accident', the shot includes a good view of the young woman's impressive clevage...

Noticing the costume, Annie dubiously asks... "Real?"

Luke snickers. "Well..."

"Luke!" Grace calls from the kitchen.

"I mean yes Annie, they...uh, she is real."

Luke gives a sheepish glance over his shoulder and sees Grace smirking. She shakes her head and goes back to cooking. Luke quietly gives thanks for an understanding wife.

Later...

By early afternoon everything is ready for the Thanksgiving feast. The apartment is filled with wonderful aromas, the dining table has been set and is heavy laden with food and the young Girardi family has changed into their best clothes. Even Grace is wearing a simple but elegant dress...

"You in a dress, Grace?" Luke asks with a concealed smile.

"I've got the digital camera set up, and I want this to be a real Norman Rockwell type scene. When Annie is grown and married, she can show her kids this first Thanksgiving of ours to her children."

"That sounds great." Luke says as he lifts Annie into her booster seat. Annie looks excitedly at the beautifully decorated table and all of the new foods...

"Smells good!"

Grace chuckles. "Thank you, Annie. It looks nice too, doesn't it?"

Luke responds, "It looks almost as beautiful as you, Grace."

Grace blushes and gives Luke a playful nudge with her elbow. "Geek."

Annie spots a glaring error. "Where Yah-Yah sit?"

Grace rolls her eyes. "Not this again. Annie, Yah-Yah isn't real."

Annie shouts, "Is too!"

"Don't raise your voice to me, young lady. Do you want another time out?"

Annie sullenly stares at her plate and softly mutters, "Yah-Yah real."

"Grace, what's the harm in letting her pretend?"

"Because the world is completely rotten, and little girls whose heads are filled with daydreams and fantasies will have their hearts ripped out when they face reality unprepared. I...know."

As Grace stares at her own plate, fighting back tears, Luke feels like crying himself. He knows Grace is remembering her own childhood when at age four 'Gracie', who loved pink dresses and fairy tales, was molested by a babysitter. From that terrible time there emerged the angry, rebellious Grace Polk he fell in love with. He understands the why of her uncharacteristic need for this perfect, traditional Thanksgiving. Grace has a need for a safe, 'normal' home life for Annie while also preparing their daughter for a world that can be unspeakably cruel. Still, Luke knows he must balance that against what he believes is best for their daughter...

"I think, this one time, we will set a place for Yah-Yah."

Grace notes the calm, authoritative tone Luke is using. Her father would sound the same way when he made one of his 'head-of-the-household' type decisions. Luke only does this occasionally, and always he has a valid point. In some ways it pisses Grace off, but in others it endears Luke to her even more.

"Fine, I'll get another plate."

Annie smiles as Mama rearranges items on the table in order to have a place setting for Yah-Yah. Of course Yah-Yah doesn't eat, but to Annie it only seems polite to have a plate set aside for him. Annie and Luke both thank Grace...

"Whatever. Remind me to give your sister a good 'thanking' for adding Yah-Yah to our lives."

"Grace, you can't blame Joan. All she did was mention she had an imaginary playmate when she was a little girl named Yah-Yah. Annie took it from there."

"Joan should have known you have to be careful about what you say around Annie. She picks up on everything. Now we have this Yah-Yah nonsense to deal with, and it's a real pain in the..." (Grace pauses, knowing Annie is listening.) "...derriere."

Instantly Annie asks, "What...'dairy-air'?"

Without pause Grace replies, "It's what a dairy smells like."

Annie notices her mother's tone of voice. She knows when she asks grown-ups questions, they sometimes answer with what they think is 'funny' rather than the truth. It was hard to tell with Mama, but she could always tell with Daddy.

"Daddy, what 'dairy-air'?"

"Uh..."

"Luke."

"Your mom is right. 'Derriere' is what a dairy smells like."

Annie sighs. She turns to the seemingly empty chair next to her and asks, "Dairy-air...?"

Annie listens and smiles. She stands in her chair, bends over and points at her backside. "Mama, 'dairy-air'."

"Annie, don't you dare fart at this table!"

Annie giggles. "No Mama, 'dairy-air' means butt!"

Annie laughs again and Luke joins in. "Grace, if you could have seen your face..."

Grace starts to laugh too and soon all three have a major case of the giggles. Eventually they begin to settle down...

Grace remarks, "Isn't this going to make a dignified recording for future generations. I wonder how Annie figured that out? It isn't even an English word."

Luke shrugs. "Who knows? Maybe she heard it on television."

"Then we need to monitor her TV time more closely. Okay, we have to get started before the food gets cold. Let's begin with what we are thankful for."

There follows one of the most confusing things about life to Annie. Why do her parents insist Yah-Yah is not real when they regularly speak to him? Every week she and Mama get dressed up (Annie isn't sure what 'up' has to do with it), and they go to a large building where other people are also 'dressed up'. They sing to Yah-Yah, a man tells the people about how wonderful Yah-Yah is, and then the people talk to Yah-Yah in that funny way called 'prayer'. Through all of this Annie can see Yah-Yah politely listening to the people. Mostly he smiles, sometimes he frowns and at the end, he tells everyone that he loves them. Those being attentive leave feeling happy and the rest leave unchanged. Mama always leaves feeling much better.

The next day Annie does the same thing with Daddy. They go to a different building, sing different songs, a man tells the people how great Yah-Yah is and then they speak to him in that prayer way. Yah-Yah listens politely to the people, smiling most of the time, frowning occasionally, and at the end he tells them that he loves them. Daddy usually leaves happy, but sometimes he is one of the distracted ones.

Now, while Yah-Yah sits next to Annie, he politely listens while they thank him for blessing them and their family so much. Yah-Yah smiles, says they are welcome and that he loves them. The mention of 'family' jogs Annie's memory. She remembers living in the other place before they made the long, long journey here. Then, besides Aunt Joan, Annie had lots of grandparents around her. There was Grandpas Will and Aaron, Grandmas Helen and Sarah, and even more grandparents. Once, there visited a grandpa Annie thinks of as 'Old Grandpa'. He was the one Daddy also called grandpa, and Annie knew he was older because his hair was all grey. He was fun and never grew tired of playing Annie's pointing game.

There was another one that Annie thought of as 'Old-Old Grandpa', the one that Mama called grandpa too. Mama would take her to visit this grandpa, who lived in a building filled with lots of old-old people. Old-Old Grandpa was usually tired and sleeping, but sometimes Mama would place her on his bed and Annie would crawl forward to greet the old man. His hands shook and he could not hold Annie, but he always seemed glad to see her. He would stroke Annie's hair and tell her she was beautiful. Sometimes he called her 'Grace', which Annie was fairly sure was her Mama's name. Annie didn't mind. She liked Old-Old Grandpa, even if he wasn't a lot of fun. But afterward, when they left, Mama would cry.

Then came the day when the whole family dressed up (again, why 'up'?), and went to a park with lots of big stones sticking out of the ground. This happened just before they made the long-long trip to the new place. It was a beautiful day in the stony park, but everyone seemed sad. They gathered around a hole in the ground and lots of people told Mama they were sorry she had lost her grandfather. This seemed very strange to Annie since she could see Old-Old Grandpa standing closeby with Yah-Yah. Annie tried to point this out, but...

"Shh, Annie, please be good for mama."

Annie understood this meant she should be as quiet and still as she could, so she obeyed. While the grown-ups went on and on about what a good man Old-Old Grandpa was, Annie smiled and waved at him. He smiled and waved back, and Annie was glad to see that he no longer seemed tired, no longer had shaky hands and didn't even seem as old as he use to be. While Annie waved good-bye, Old-Old Grandpa took Yah-Yah's hand, walked into a very bright light and disappeared. After, when Annie asked Yah-Yah about this, he said her greatgrandfather was now an honored guest in his home. Annie thought this was very nice of Yah-Yah...

The prayer of thankfulness ends at the dining table followed by Grace's call of, "Let's eat!"

Luke proudly carves the turkey while Grace breaks it up into bite-sized pieces for Annie, who declares she loves turkey! Also cranberry sauce, yams and dumplings. But at the green bean casserole, Annie shudders with disgust...

"Bad!" she proclaims.

Grace takes a bite and winces. "I agree. This is disgusting."

Luke adds, "I didn't want to say anything, but it is rather awful. We never had green bean casserole at my house."

"Neither did we. I just made it because it is advertised so much at this time of year."

"Maybe next year we can substitute corn on the cob?"

"Up to you, dude. You'll be cooking."

"In the meantime, I think I'll try the dressing."

"Sorry, we don't have any 'dressing'."

"Grace, it's in the bowl right next to you."

"This? No, that's stuffing."

"It can't be stuffing because you didn't cook it stuffed into the bird. That makes it dressing."

"It's stuffing. I stuffed it into a pan, I stuffed that into the oven, so it is...stuffing!"

Luke, "Dressing."

Grace, "Stuffing."

Luke and Grace stare at each other for a few moments in a contest of wills. Luke blinks first.

"My darling wife, will you please pass the...stuffing."

"A pleasure, my darling husband." Grace says with a grin. Luke grins back and they share a kiss.

Annie breathes a sigh of relief. Another thing she finds confusing about life is this habit of her parents to have these verbal confrontations. Usually they ended like this one with easy concession and humor, but not always. Sometimes their voices got loud and their faces angry. Annie would be depositied into her her room while her parents argued, but she could still hear them behind the closed door. Mama always spoke the most and the loudest, but Daddy would respond with a low, stern voice that was so unlike the happy way he normally talked. This would either make Mama madder, or she would cry. Usually Daddy would apologize if Mama cried, but sometimes, if he were really angry, he would grab his leather jacket and leave the apartment to 'study at the library'. When he returned, Annie's parents would treat each other the way they treated Yah-Yah - not seeing or hearing each other.

Annie worried most during these times, but Yah-Yah assured Annie she had nothing to fear. He explained that Luke and Grace were still teenagers and were learning how to be a married couple on their own. He said their love was strong and they would work out their problems. Sure enough, her parents would hesitantly begin to talk to each other again and soon there were smiles followed by kissing. Annie would again be deposited into her room, and she would hear strange sounds from behind the door. Later, her parents would return wearing their robes and all would be calm again. Often there was a family treat like ice cream...

Speaking of which, at the end of the Thanksgiving day meal, dessert consisted of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and maraschino cherries. Luke and Grace both admitted they were not really fond of pumpkin and only had one small slice of pumpkin pie each year as part of the holiday tradition. The rest of the year they avoided anything pumpkin related. A new family tradition was declared - ice cream for dessert every Thanksgiving...

X X X X X

Luke awakens slowly and gently on the living room sofa. Wow, the effects of full stomachs and the tryptophan in turkey put the whole family asleep. Luke smiles at Annie asleep on his chest and looks over to the recliner where Grace was the first to fall asleep. But Grace is gone and the apartment is mostly dark because the sun has set. Despite that, Luke knows he has only been asleep about an hour since the sun sets so early this time of the year. The only light is from the kitchen, and by glancing at the mirror on the opposite wall, Luke can see into that room. Luke spots Grace texting on a cell phone and he frowns...

Luke softly calls out, "Grace, can you come here?"

Grace hastily hides the phone in a kitchen drawer before entering the living room. Luke holds up a finger to his lips and whispers...

"I need to get up but I don't want to disturb Annie. Can you take her?"

"Sure." Grace whispers back as she gently lifts their daughter and carries her into the bedroom.

Instantly, Luke is up and headed for the kitchen, already feeling guilty about what he is doing. The phone Grace was using wasn't hers or his. Luke recognizes it as one of the cheap disposables you can buy at the convenience store around the corner. When he was up here at M.I.T. last year, Luke had a roommate who bore the nickname: 'Doug the Dog'. This was because he compulsively always had two girlfriends at the same time. To keep his ladies from finding out about each other, he used the gimmick of having two different cell phones. Luke hates the thought that is going through his head. Surely Grace wouldn't...?

Luke retrieves the phone from the kitchen drawer and nervously reads the incomplete text message: 'The missing boy is in the basement of an abandoned building at the corner of...'

"Oh crap." Grace gasps as she sees Luke.

"Grace, an explanation?"

"Later." Grace says as she grabs the phone, completes the message and hits send. "Okay, we need to talk."

X X X X X

On the TV screen a woman reporter stands in front of an old apartment building making a live report for the evening news...

"A true reason for thanksgiving has come to this South Boston neighborhood in what is being called a miracle. Earlier today six year old Sean Kelley wandered away from this apartment building while his mother was distracted preparing the holiday meal. It took only minutes for Mrs. Kelley to notice that Sean was gone, but by then there was no trace of the little boy. The police were called and an Amber Alert was issued. Volunteers from the entire neighborhood joined authorities in searching for Sean without success. Then, late this afternoon, this reporter received an anonymous text message revealing Sean's location - the basement of an abandoned building only a block from his home. Apparently the adventurous Sean was exploring the condemned structure when the stairs leading to the basement collapsed. Although unharmed, Sean was trapped in the basement with no means of escape. Rescued by the fire department only an hour ago, Sean is now back home enjoying his belated Thanksgiving day meal. Police are offering a five thousand dollar gratitude reward to the anonymous texter. Please contact them at..."

Luke switches off the TV and comments, "An obvious trap."

Grace snorts, "Ya think? This is why I sent the text to a reporter instead of the cops. I couldn't risk them tracing the message. I realized they would want to know how I knew the kid was in that basement, which I wouldn't be able to explain."

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it."

"That's why I never told you. I was afraid if I admitted to this 'astral projection' thing, you wouldn't believe me."

"Well, I've certainly heard of astral projection. It has been reported amongst surgery patients for decades, and also with people who have had near death experiences. But I've never heard of someone who could do it at will. Grace, you've been at this ever since you came out of the coma?"

"Yeah, all I have to do is decide I want to go some place before I fall asleep and off I go. I've been all over the world, mostly to tourist type places, through this amazing gift God has given me."

"About that...are you sure, Grace? This came from God?"

"It has to be. Sometimes when I'm sleeping I get this 'tug' on my soul, and I astral project to wherever I'm being sent. I stay there until I have witnessed all that God wants me to see and then I return to my body. Like today - as soon as I fell asleep in the recliner, I was off to South Boston. I saw the grieving mother, her family priest praying hard, the cops searching the area, the news media and finally I went directly to where this 'Sean' kid was at. None of these actions were of my choosing. I didn't even know the kid was missing."

"Grace, this is amazing. We have an opportunity to scientifically prove to the world that God exists."

"Prove to whom, the authorities? They would think I was crazy, and you too for believing me. They'd take Annie away from us for being mentally incompetent. Or worse, what if everyone believed our secret? I doubt God would like that, and I know we wouldn't. Can you imagine the army of religious fanatics that would descend upon us? Our life, as we know it, would be over."

Luke hesitates, considering Grace's words. "You've thought this through."

"I had help. When this first started, I thought I might be going insane. When John Hunter visited Arcadia last year, I confided my secret to him. To my surprise, he believed me."

"You trusted Dr. Hunter but not me?"

"He was my old shrink, and he agreed to listen under doctor/patient confidentiality. Luke, I know you. If I had told you this without proof, you would've tried very hard to believe me, but deep down you would think I was crazy. It's the way your family is."

"What does that mean?"

"Look at the way you guys treated Joan after she came down with Lyme disease and started having hallucinations that we now know were about God. Your parents shipped Joan off to that awful Gentle Acres. They knew Joan had a treatable disease, but they still sent her away to live for weeks, alone and scared, while 'Dr. Dan' messed with her head. Remember how she was when she got back?"

"Yes, and I'll admit sending Joan away was a mistake. She needed the daily support of her family while getting counseling. But Grace - the family, and certainly not me, would never think of doing something like that to you."

"No? What about two years ago when your family decided Joan should be committed because she kept insisting that Ryan Hunter was evil? It was completely true, but you Geek were all for Joan's commitment."

Luke blushes as he remembers that mistake. "Okay, I get your point. I promise to help you keep this secret from everyone, including my family."

"Especially Joan."

"Why 'especially'?"

"Because Joan has been through so much, and has had her sanity questioned so many times. Considering her history, learning our secret would be an especially bitter pill for Joan to swallow. I know Joan can be a little...weird, but she's my best friend and I would never want to burden her with this. Okay?"

Luke nods. "Okay. Uh Grace, during those times when you travelled on your own...did you ever check up on me?"

This time Grace blushes. "Yeah...I spied on you a few times. I'm sorry, but when you were up here alone last year, surrounded by so many horny co-eds..."

Luke smiles. "And were your fears put to rest?"

Grace smiles back. "You passed with flying colors. A couple of times I saw pretty girls throwing themselves at you, and you never wavered. Thank you for that. When did you become such an irresistable hottie?"

"I'm a hottie?" Luke chuckles.

"Yeah, my hottie."

They kiss and passion grows...

THE END.

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